2 Bellingham officers fire at driver in chase

Two Bellingham police officers, fearing for their lives, fired several shots at a 50-year-old Franklin man barreling toward them in his car yesterday, authorities said.

The car stopped, and police apprehended the driver, David W. Mitchell, who was not wounded, they said. Mitchell was on the run from police trying to arrest him on a warrant for failure to appear in Milford District Court on drug charges, Police Chief Gerard Daigle said. Police said they learned of the warrant when they ran his license plate, which was called in by a motorist who reported an erratic driver on Blackstone Street near Bellingham High School at 7:29 a.m.

Both officers pulled out their .40-caliber Berettas after Mitchell hit one officer in the leg while speeding around a parking lot in his 1987 gold Saab 9000 behind the Country Side Motel on Mechanic Street, Daigle said. It is unclear how many shots were fired.

''If someone tries to run you down, you try to protect yourself . . . you take the action you think you should," Daigle said.

The gunfire woke up several people inside the motel, said a man who described himself as Mr. Patel after answering the phone at the motel.

''It woke me up. We just heard gunshots. I went to go outside and I saw lots of police," he said. ''Everybody's so scared right now."

The officer allegedly struck in the leg by Mitchell's car, Kenneth Jones, was treated and released from Milford Regional Medical Center, Daigle said.

The second officer, John McLaughlin, was treated for a sprained back. Mitchell was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Daigle said Jones and McLaughlin have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by State Police assigned to the office of Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte. Both officers joined the force in 2002 after graduating from the police academy.

Conte could not be reached for comment.